Musically Inclined
by the-redhead-who-writes
Summary: "James asks Sam to run to town and pick up some music for him, and this one dumb errand turns into a trip he won't soon forget." Music Store AU that is fluffiness to the max.


Hey dorks! I'm back with some _#SamIsTheBest_ love!

Dedicated to my good friend Cassie as a late birthday present, and a speedy recovery charm! Thank you so much for all of your help with editing and for just being there for me. I hope you all enjoy! **Rated T for language, 'cause Sam.**

* * *

Sam didn't _get_ the Human World.

Sure, there were some sweets perks to living in it: he had way more freedom than when he was living in the Abyssal Plains, for one. Yeah, he'd pretty much slacked off that whole time, but at least here, he could slack off and not have his douchebag Dad breathing down his neck.

Video games were pretty cool, too. Matthew had dug up some old human gaming console from the mansion's basement the first week after they'd arrived, and since then, handing his ass to him never got old.

But the rest was kind of a shitshow.

Sam didn't know much about Human World history either. Unlike James, who for some reason actually liked studying every aspect of human life. Their traditions and cultures were fascinating to him, and he seemed to start on a new research topic every other week. This time it was music. More specifically, a bunch of long-dead musicians.

"Sam, I'd appreciate if you could simply do me this favour," James yelled tiredly through the open window. Sam didn't have to see him to know he was pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Why the hell do I gotta go out and get your stupid music? Whaddaya even want it for anyway?" Sam groused, not bothering to open his eyes. Cushioning his arm beneath his head, he shifted onto his side, enjoying how the afternoon sun warmed the roof.

He heard James sigh.

"I've already told you. If we are to stay in this world, we must learn all that we can about the people who occupy it. The research I'm compiling highlights the men and women that greatly affected humanity; explorers, theorists, musicians and scientists alike. Beethoven, Bach and Mozart for example - seen as geniuses for the prominent pieces of music they'd composed in their lifetimes, and whom are still considered to be the most brilliant minds of the age in modern-"

"Ok, ok, I got it. Geez… But why me? Isn't this Damien's kinda thing? He loves all that stuff about humans: just get him to do it."

"Damien and Matthew are out shopping for this week's groceries, and before you ask, Erik is gone as well. He's picking up some books that I need from the library."

"So why don't you go and get the CD's then?" Sam retorted, adding under his breath, "You're the one who actually wants to waste his time listening to 'em."

"I heard that," James snapped, "And for your information, I'm still in the process of finalizing our Citizenship documents. Fake as they may be, blending in with the humans and their routines is crucial to the start of our new lives. Unless you'd _rather_ spend the duration of our time here confined to the mansion."

 _How the hell did his stupid research have anything to do with that last part?_

Sam didn't respond, rolling over onto his back.

 _Their freedom depended on some old dead guys who could write music?_ That logic made zero sense. But even the idea of not being able to leave the mansion for the rest of his life _really_ sucked.

Before he had a chance to finish his internal debate though, James took his lapse of silence as a 'yes'.

"Be sure to take some money with you, as well as one of the disposable cell phones I bought, just in case. And you can take the bus into town to get to the record shop."

"Oh, one last thing," James called over his shoulder, voice growing fainter as he walked away. "I'll leave you a note with directions and a list of several composers and song titles on the dining table. It should make finding the materials simpler."

And with that, he left, his footsteps echoing softly off the marble floors.

Once he was sure James was gone, Sam opened his eyes, squinting up at the sky. _Freakin' perfect._ Reluctantly, he braced himself up on his left hand, rubbing his other palm into his eye.

 _All this for some stupid music…_

 **oOo**

While on his brothers' dumb errand, Sam discovered something else he didn't understand about humans.

Why the hell they _ever took the bus._

Hot and cramped, with fifty other people crowding around him, it reeked like sweat and the 'gasoline' James had told him powered the thing. It was loud as shit too. People talking, some kid was crying, and there was a guy playing a game on his phone and screaming at it.

If the humans thought it was bad, it was a thousand times worse for Sam. With his enhanced senses, the smell and noise were practically choking him, and getting jostled every two minutes by the old lady knitting in the seat beside him _wasn't helping._

Agitated, he tried to adjust his hold on the safety pole but felt the steel crumple in his grasp. He quickly loosened his grip, only to find a perfect imprint of his hand dented into the metal. Sam groaned and resigned himself to leaning against the damn thing instead. That was precisely the moment that the old lady finished her row, and jabbed him squarely in the ribs again. Startled, he fell to the dirty bus floor, landing on his ass with a _thud_. The guy on his phone snickered, and Sam's blood boiled.

 _Fucking awesome._

When the bus finally stopped, he vaulted over the seats, dashed out the sliding doors with inhuman speed, and skidded to a stop on the sidewalk. Bent over with his hands on his knees, he gasped for air, taking several deep breaths.

 _He was walking back to the mansion, no fucking question._

Once the horrible smell was out of his nose and the ringing had faded from his ears, Sam straightened. Breathing hard and pissed beyond belief, he pulled the paper James had left him out of his vest pocket. The faster he got this done, the better, and according to the crudely drawn map sketched on the note, the record store was a just a little further down the road - the fifth on the left.

He heard it before he saw it. Muffled laughter and music floated down the street, coming from a run-down looking shop.

It was definitely old, crammed between an arcade and a bookstore. The bricks were chipped and worn. Cobwebs blew gently in the corners of windows that were littered with faded posters, and a stained welcome mat sat in front of a tarnished brass door. In short, it looked like shit, but Sam couldn't have cared less; it wasn't like he planned on taking his time.

Pushing the door open, a bell chimed above Sam's head and scattered voices mixed with the music playing in the background.

It was bigger than it looked outside, but just as messy. Boxes were stacked everywhere, while different instruments hung on the walls. A busted light cast shadows over the back of the store while the sections of CD's were brightly lit. Rows of shelves held hundreds of discs for people to browse, but thankfully it was nowhere near as cramped as the bus.

Now that he was here, all he had to do was find James's shit. Then he could get back to the mansion. Sam wandered to the nearest shelf and unfolded the list again. Ruffling his hair, he started scanning the names, already bored. After the first couple lines, though, he furrowed his brow and brought the paper closer to his face.

Looking over the titles a little more closely, his eyes widened. _Shit..._

He couldn't recognize one damn word on the page.

It was no big secret that Sam couldn't read, not extensively anyway. He knew the basics, kinda, but James and Erik were the ones who'd been taught properly, being the prospective heirs and all. Matthew had picked up some reading and writing from his mom, and Damien… Well, he had actually tried to learn once they'd ended up in the Human World, combing through the mansion's library for practice. Sam had _meant_ to join him once or twice, he just… hadn't gotten around to it yet.

He could read some smaller words, and he'd been kind of betting on that to get him through the stupid trip. But the names and titles James had written were long and complicated, completely foreign to him. If he couldn't pick out any familiar words, how the hell was he supposed to find the right CD's?

Gripping the paper tighter, Sam tried to focus on the letters of James's handwriting, but they melted and blurred together.

 _Fuck._ Now what was he gonna do?

Growling under his breath, he picked a random case off the shelf and scrutinized it, trying to match the title cover to something on his list. … _No, this one didn't start with the right letter._ He dropped it back in its slot and picked up another. The font was curly and intricate, which made reading it even harder. … _Was that one long word or two really short ones…?_

"Hi there! Can I help you with anything?"

Sam stiffened at the sudden, perky voice behind him, his fingers gripping the case in his hands hard enough to audibly crack the plastic. _He was not in the mood for this shit right now…_

With a grim set of his jaw and a biting " _No, I'm fine, leave me alone_ " on his lips, he whirled around, but the words promptly died in his throat.

A girl was standing with her thumbs hooked casually in the front pockets of her jeans. Long, dark hair hung loosely around her shoulders, shining even in the dim light. Contrasting sharply against her fair skin, it brought out her wide, emerald green eyes; eyes that were watching him closely.

She tilted her head to the side, concern dimming her cheerful smile as she stared up at him. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked, noticing how white his knuckles had gone around the CD case.

"What?" Sam replied thickly, his thoughts buzzing as he tried not to swallow his own _tongue_.

Her expression softened, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "Can I help you?" she repeated patiently. "Are you looking for something?"

His brain froze; he couldn't help it. Her voice was so soft that if he'd been another foot away, he might've missed it. And yet, it held such tenderness, something Sam had no experience with at all. He was utterly stunned; the deadly combination of both shock and awe rendering him baffled.

Blinked owlishly, he nodded, handing her the crushed note robotically. When her fingers brushed his, more warmth seeped through his already flustered body.

"It's nice you have a list. A lot of the time, people just come in here with a general idea of what they're looking for, and they end up wandering around for hours." She laughed nostalgically at her own memory, before smoothing the paper over her leg and reading through it. "Alright, let's see… Oh! 'Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Mozart'. You're interested in Classical music?" she presumed.

"Uh, well, yeah. I guess?" Sam muttered, cursing himself for stammering like an idiot. She was just some girl - a _human girl_ \- and yet he could barely string together a proper sentence. _What the hell was wrong with him?_

"Cool! It's been too long since someone showed an interest in something other than the usual Top 40's." Nodding thoughtfully, she refolded his list and peered down at the CD he was still clutching. "But you know, I think you're gonna have a little trouble finding what you're looking for here…" she said matter-of-factly, and Sam's breath hitched.

 _Shit_ \- she'd made him. What the hell did he do now? Explain why he couldn't read the labels? He blanked, her sudden appearance and the panic now flooding his veins leaving him incapable of _responding_ , let alone defending himself.

But instead of scrutiny, her eyes sparkled with mischief, and she chewed her bottom lip. "…Because the Country section is a _really_ bad place to start."

The blood drained from Sam's face, and she snorted, bursting into a fit of laughter. Light and happy, it rang clear as a bell, and even as he sagged against the shelf in relief, warmth flooded his chest. _Who had a laugh like that?_ Dumbfounded, he listened as she continued to giggle softly, nose scrunched.

Then indignation had him scowling half-heartedly. She was laughing at him. That girl nearly gave him a _heart attack_ , and she thought it was _funny?_ _What the hell?!_

Still trying to smother her laughter with her hand, she looked back up at him with the sweetest smile Sam had ever seen. His scowl faltered.

Well, she was… actually… kinda cute. She had to work here, right? Why else would she ask him if he needed help? Maybe he could get her name… No way, she'd probably freak out or something. Worse, she might figure out what he was, and then James would kick his-

Wait. _Country?_

Realizing his mistake, Sam's face burned, and he quickly returned the disc. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he awkwardly cleared his throat, "So, um, w-where can I find those uh-"

"I can show you!" she offered, maybe a little too quickly, and her face flushed a warm pink. Sam gawked at her eager response and, embarrassed, she looked down at her shoes. "S-sorry. It's just… been awhile since someone came in looking for Classical music, that's all…"

The pink tint to her cheeks proved to be incredibly distracting, and since he still wasn't _all there,_ Sam just continued to stare like a dumbass.

It got uncomfortably quiet for a second; Sam standing like a statue while the girl shifted her weight from foot to foot. His brain was screaming at him to say something - _anything_ \- but she beat him to it.

"You know what, you-you brought a list, so you obviously know what you need." She smiled sheepishly, and Sam's heart lurched into his throat. "I should probably just leave you to-"

"No!" he cut her off sharply. Taken aback, she stared up at him with wide eyes, and he shook his head vigorously. Without her, he had no goddamn hope of finding the stuff for James. And for some stupid reason… he didn't want to see her go. "Uh, no," he said again, a little more put together. "You can help… If you want."

His mumbled words were almost indistinguishable, but she caught them anyway, and another beautiful smile lit up her face, effectively taking his breath away for the third time.

"Ok then! Just follow me." Beaming, she turned on her heel, and Sam couldn't help but admire her figure as she walked away. Slim, but curvy, she held herself with the same grace he remembered from the higher ups in the Abyssal Plains. But that was where the similarities ended. There was something else - it wasn't the same ' _holier-than-thou_ ', ' _walks-with-a-stick-up-their-ass_ ' kind of attitude. The way she folded her hands, the light behind her smile. She was just… _warm_.

"Are you coming?" Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he quickly jogged to catch up to her. Together, they breezed past row after row of music, and at every turn, she was recognized by someone; asking how she was, or if school was going well.

"You're pretty popular," Sam commented as they wormed their way through the store.

She scoffed, which still somehow managed to sound endearing.

"Thanks, but I'm really not. I've only been working here part-time for about 6 months, just until I finish up my last year of high school. Most of our customers are regulars anyway; not many people actually go out to buy their music anymore, ya know?"

No, he didn't. But Sam chose not to mention that in fear of looking even more stupid than he already felt.

Finally reaching an aisle around the far end of the shop, she spread the list out beside her and set to work, skimming her fingers lightly across the tops of the albums. Stacking CD after CD, she worked diligently with a determined smile, expressing how genuinely happy she was with the task of helping him.

Sam watched the pile steadily grow until there were about two dozen cases, at least.

 _Geez, how much music did James need?_

Every so often, she'd lean over and check the paper before setting back to work, but the motion kept untucking a lock of hair from behind her ear. And seeing her run her small fingers through it, attempting to pin it back into place over and over again, was driving Sam _crazy_. So were the soft sounds she made, the little _hmm's_ and _oh's_ when she got frustrated, or the _uh-huh's_ and _ah-ha's_ when she found the correct album.

After a few minutes she finally finished, and Sam could breathe properly again. Adding one last case to the pile with a loud _clack!_ , she turned back to rest against the shelf.

" _Phew!_ That should be all of them! Quite the collection you're starting; I don't think I've ever seen someone buy so many CD's at once." Her bubbly enthusiasm was infectious, and slowly, Sam found himself relaxing.

"Thanks," he said, scratching at his jaw absently.

"No problem. By the way, my name is Mika. Probably should've said that awhile ago but…" Trailing off, and once again brushing back that piece of hair, she looked at him expectantly.

"Sam," he introduced stiffly, "I'm Sam."

She must've smiled at him more than a half a dozen times now, but it didn't stop her from sending another his way, just as dazzling as the others. "It's nice to meet you, Sam."

 **oOo**

Fifteen minutes later, his CD's were packed into shopping bags - _three_ to be precise - and Sam was ready to head back to the mansion. Mika had offered to check him out, and she'd been incredibly patient as he floundered with the currency James had left him. Seeing his distress, she'd taken his money and counted out exactly how much he owed, despite the growing line behind them.

"Thanks… again," he muttered lamely, collecting his change off the counter.

"It's ok. You did have quite the bill," she laughed brightly, scribbling something down on the last CD before dropping it into one of the bags. "I hope your friend enjoys the music, by the way."

"Whaddaya mean?" Sam questioned, and she arched a brow.

"The music. It's not for you, is it?" She drummed her fingers against the wood tabletop.

"I mean I don't want to assume but…" He swallowed as she appraised his appearance with gentle curiosity - his vest, ripped shirt, and silver dog tags - before meeting his gaze with keen eyes, "You don't look like you're into Classical."

Sam felt heat crawl up his neck and into his face. He dragged a hand through his hair in what he _hoped_ seemed like a controlled action, awkwardly trying to regain a grasp on the situation.

It would be easier if she'd just stop _looking_ at him like that.

She waved off his stuttered attempt at an explanation with a shake of her head. "It's fine. I hope you'll come back again soon, though. Maybe then I'll get a chance to find out what kind of music _you_ like to listen to." The invitation to return had his heart sputtering wildly in his chest.

"Hey, lovebirds! Can we hurry it up please?" an aggravated voice shouted behind him in line, and Sam _choked_.

He whipped his head around. "We're not-!" he began hoarsely - mainly because all the air in his lungs seemed to have disappeared - but Mika cut him off.

"Tony, be nice. We're not going to have a repeat of last month's karaoke night, are we?"

Laughter erupted in the line, and the man - _Tony?_ \- grumbled angrily.

Mika leaned on her forearms against the countertop, shielding the side of her mouth with her hand. "Had to be ' _removed from the premises_ ' when he flipped over a patio table," she whispered under her breath, amusement dancing in her green eyes, and Sam smirked. Mika bit her lip to keep from giggling, hoping to maintain some form of professionalism as he picked up his bags and headed for the door.

"Thanks for stopping by!" Mika called from behind the counter with a little wave, and Sam's heart gave one last loud thump at her brilliant smile. He nodded with a hesitant grin, and suddenly he was out on the sidewalk.

Sam blinked, turning to look back in through the large window, and saw Mika was already helping the next customer. It was the man who'd interrupted them, and by the way he was hanging his head and her stern finger wagging, she was letting him have it.

Chuckling, he walked back to the bus stop and was right on time to catch the next one out. He was lucky enough to score a seat this time around too, and gratefully dropped the bags of CD's on the floor underneath him.

Sam quickly craned his neck to get one last look at the store. Mika was partially blocked by the angle, but he could tell she was talking animatedly to someone, and smiling just as warmly as she had before. Then she was gone, enveloped in a cloud of black fumes as the bus pulled away.

 **oOo**

Sam shifted in his chair, trying to get comfortable, but while the smell wasn't as bad this time around, the noise was still insufferable. With a groan, he gave up. Desperate to distract himself, Sam noted the bags on the floor and shrugged, leaning down and yanking one open.

Shuffling through the contents, he examined the cover art and odd titles until he finally came across a case at the bottom of the bag that made him pause. The artwork appeared to be graphics of chainlink over a black background with bold, white text. That wasn't what caught his eye, though.

Sam's brows rose as he read one of the only English words he knew: his human name. Written on a piece of tape stuck to the front, it pointed with a little arrow, indicating he should open the case. He did so, and found a small, handwritten note scrawled on a fold of paper that had his ears burning:

 ** _Sam: "You seem like a rock kind of guy. Here's an album by Rise of the Phoenix. I think you'll like them! Let me know, ok? (XXX) XXX-XXXX_** **_\- Mika_**

He couldn't quite make out all of the text, but he sure as hell could recognize a phone number. Grinning to himself like an idiot, Sam let the bag of CD's drop back to the ground below his seat but held tight to the one Mika had left especially for him.

He'd meet up with Damien in the library to start practicing first thing tomorrow. _After_ he listened to a certain album.

* * *

Thank you for reading this fluffy fic. I hope you enjoyed! And in case you missed it, the album Mika gives to Sam is a direct reference to the single ' _Chained the Monster_ ', which is the opening theme for Seduce Me the Otome! I highly recommend you take a listen to it if you haven't already; it's an awesome song!


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